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The Amish and Portable Church

Last month, my family and I headed to Ohio for a two week vacation. While we were up there, we decided to take the kids to tour an Amish Farm. If you don’t know about the Amish community, they strictly adhere to a form of worldly separation that that strongly encourages a simple life. They wear simple clothing, avoid electricity, use horse and carriage, and for the most part, they are self sufficient.

On this tour, we looked inside an Amish home, filled with furniture made with their own hands. We walked through a barn that had goats, horses, and plenty of cats. We peaked inside an Amish classroom and even went on an Amish buggy ride. Even more intriguing then what I just mentioned, was this wagon:

This wagon doesn’t look like much, but it is an important aspect within the Amish community. This wagon holds their church equipment. Amish communities are committed to keeping things simple, so they don’t build church buildings. Rather, they travel every other week to a different home and set up their equipment in the front porch. This begs the question: were the Amish the first to see the benefits of portable church?

When I saw this wagon, I couldn’t help but think about the men and women who come every week and help set up our equipment at Grace Life. They take time out of their busy schedules to make sure the chairs, drapes, lights, and everything else are ready to go for Sunday morning. It’s not simple; it’s hard work.

This weekend is our first full weekend of set up and tear down. After two months of rest, these incredible volunteers will continue serving Jesus while mostly going unrecognized. I can’t begin to say how much I appreciate them. I want to give you three ways how you can honor these men and women.

1. Pray for them

Pray for their rest and encouragement. You may not know them by name or know who is on the setup/tear down team, but pray for them. Pray that they will stay rested as they come from work on Fridays and stay late on Sundays. Pray for them to stay encouraged in who Jesus is. Pray that they remember why they are doing what they do.

There is no greater encouragement then to simply thank someone for serving. It shows that they are recognized and appreciated. The next time you see someone tearing down, stop and thank them for serving Jesus and our church in this capacity.

“I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.” – Philippians 1:3–5

3. Join them

Finally, join them. If you asked any one of our setup/tear down team members, they’ll tell you about how much they enjoy it. Ultimately, the joy comes in knowing that we serve a King and we are bringing all glory to him. We serve to bring glory to God. So consider joining the setup team (Friday nights from 6:30 to 8:00) or the tear down team (right after Sunday morning gathering). It’s an incredible team to be a part of. Click here to take your Next Step and select “join a serve team”.

…whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. – 1 Peter 4:11

Thank you to the Grace Life Setup and Tear Down team. You guys are awesome!